EXCELLENT ARTICLE.
"I'm 63 and Im Tired"
by Robert A. Hall
I'm 63. Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce and a six-month period when I was between jobs, but job-hunting every day, I've worked, hard, since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, I still put in 50-hour weeks, and haven't called in sick in seven or eight years. I make a good salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, there's no retirement in sight, and I'm tired. Very tired.
I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it.
I'm tired of being told that I have to pay more taxes to "keep people in their homes." Sure, if they lost their jobs or got sick, I'm willing to help. But if they bought McMansions at three times the price of our paid-off, $250,000 condo, on one-third of my salary, then let the left-wing Congress-critters who passed Fannie and Freddie and the Community Reinvestment Act that created the bubble help them with their own money.
I'm tired of being told how bad America is by left-wing millionaires like Michael Moore, George Soros and Hollywood Entertainers who live in luxury because of the opportunities Americaoffers. In thirty years, if they get their way, the United States will have the economy of Zimbabwe , the freedom of the press of China , the crime and violence of Mexico , the tolerance for Christian people of Iran , and the freedom of speech of Venezuela .
I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family "honor"; of Muslims rioting over some slight offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren't "believers"; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for "adultery"; of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tells them to.
I'm tired of being told that "race doesn't matter" in the post-racial world of Obama, when it's all that matters in affirmative action jobs, lower college admission and graduation standards for minorities (harming them the most), government contract set-asides, tolerance for the ghetto culture of violence and fatherless children that hurts minorities more than anyone, and in the appointment of U.S. Senators from Illinois.
I think it's very cool that we have a black president and that a black child is doing her homework at the desk where Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. I just wish the black president was Condi Rice, or someone who believes more in freedom and the individual and less arrogantly of an all-knowing government.
I'm tired of a news media that thinks Bush's fundraising and inaugural expenses were obscene, but that think Obama's, at triple the cost, were wonderful; that thinks Bush exercising daily was a waste of presidential time, but Obama exercising is a great example for the public to control weight and stress; that picked over every line of Bush's military records, but never demanded that Kerry release his; that slammed Palin, with two years as governor, for being too inexperienced for VP, but touted Obama with three years as senator as potentially the best president ever. Wonder why people are dropping their subscriptions or switching to Fox News? Get a clue. I didn't vote for Bush in 2000, but the media and Kerry drove me to his camp in 2004.
I'm tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let Saudi Arabia use our oil money to fund mosques and madrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in America , while no American group is allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia to teach love and tolerance.
I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate. My wife and I live in a two-bedroom apartment and carpool together five miles to our jobs. We also own a three-bedroom condo where our daughter and granddaughter live. Our carbon footprint is about 5% of Al Gore's, and if you're greener than Gore, you're green enough.
I'm tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses while they tried to fight it off? I don't think Gay people choose to be Gay, but I damn sure think druggies chose to take drugs. And I'm tired of harassment from cool people treating me like a freak when I tell them I never tried marijuana.
I'm tired of illegal aliens being called "undocumented workers," especially the ones who aren't working, but are living on welfare or crime. What's next? Calling drug dealers, "Undocumented Pharmacists"? And, no, I'm not against Hispanics. Most of them are Catholic, and it's been a few hundred years since Catholics wanted to kill me for my religion. I'm willing to fast track for citizenship any Hispanic person, who can speak English, doesn't have a criminal record and who is self-supporting without family on welfare, or who serves honorably for three years in our military.... Those are the citizens we need.
I'm tired of latte liberals and journalists, who would never wear the uniform of the Republic themselves, or let their entitlement-handicapped kids near a recruiting station, trashing our military. They and their kids can sit at home, never having to make split-second decisions under life and death circumstances, and bad mouth better people than themselves. Do bad things happen in war? You bet. Do our troops sometimes misbehave? Sure. Does this compare with the atrocities that were the policy of our enemies for the last fifty years and still are? Not even close. So here's the deal. I'll let myself be subjected to all the humiliation and abuse that was heaped on terrorists at Abu Ghraib or Gitmo, and the critics can let themselves be subject to captivity by the Muslims, who tortured and beheaded Daniel Pearl in Pakistan, or the Muslims who tortured and murdered Marine Lt. Col. William Higgins in Lebanon, or the Muslims who ran the blood-spattered Al Qaeda torture rooms our troops found in Iraq, or the Muslims who cut off the heads of schoolgirls in Indonesia, because the girls were Christian. Then we'll compare notes. British and American soldiers are the only troops in history that civilians came to for help and handouts, instead of hiding from in fear.
I'm tired of people telling me that their party has a corner on virtue and the other party has a corner on corruption. Read the papers; bums are bipartisan. And I'm tired of people telling me we need bipartisanship. I live in Illinois , where the "Illinois Combine" of Democrats has worked to loot the public for years. Not to mention the tax cheats in Obama's cabinet.
I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of both parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught. I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.
Speaking of poor, I'm tired of hearing people with air-conditioned homes, color TVs and two cars called poor. The majority of Americans didn't have that in 1970, but we didn't know we were "poor." The poverty pimps have to keep changing the definition of poor to keep the dollars flowing.
I'm real tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination or big-whatever for their problems.
Yes, I'm damn tired. But I'm also glad to be 63. Because, mostly, I'm not going to have to see the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for my granddaughter.
24 comments:
Recycled?
Yup.
I'm tired of whiny old people.
Whiny old white rich people who have had every opportunity available to them but who *desperately* want to believe someone was/is holding them down, so they can look back at their cushy life as the fruits of a constant, righteous struggle.
A repeat? Damn. I'll fire someone for this!
dave
curator, MRWD
@ dave
Its a repeat but I think the picture and font are new. So by wingnut standards that counts a brand new! :-)
Get off my lawn!
I'm not 63 and I'm TIRED of rich entitled white people whining and crying about their supposed lot in life that's being infringed on by teh poors, especially teh brown and minority poors who, by definition, are grasping lazy wastrals out solely to rip off white racists.
Yeah, this is recycled, but it's clearly being sent out by rightwing think tanks right now because of the health care vote. So the Koch Family Industries clearly want to greedily grasp and cling onto all that they can at the expense of everyone else.
I'm tired of whining, selfish, self-centered, self-righteous, superior rants that appear to put such people on an ersatz "high ground" and make it seem like they are the only ones who "work hard" and deserve what they have.
Get off my lawn, grandpa, and STFU while you're doing it!
Since the old one had more discussion of the talking points, here it is.
Thanks for the link, Anon. Here's another link I got from the prior responses:
http://www.tomwdorr.blogspot.com/
A point by point, thoughtful response to this smug nonsense. Worth a read. Written with more civility than I feel, so kudos to Mr. Dorr for his compassion and helpful attitude. Imagine that: a liberal who's helpful!
Worth reading; more conservatives should read it, too, but I won't hold my breath.
"I'm 63 and what is this"
The Other Mike, I ran into this comment thread just to see if somebody beat me to that joke. :p
I find the bigotry of the commentors on here just as funny and clueless as those of these email forwards.
Thanks everyone for reminding me that both sides are filled with partisan bigots.
"Imagine that: a liberal who's helpful!"
"I'm TIRED of rich entitled white people whining and crying about their supposed lot in life that's being infringed on by teh poors, especially teh brown and minority poors who, by definition, are grasping lazy wastrals out solely to rip off white racists."
"Whiny old white rich people"
"I find the bigotry of the commentors on here just as funny and clueless as those of these email forwards. "
and cites this as being racist -
"Whiny old white rich people"
Because I don't think rightwing nutcases would put a Latino or African American in the picture - it's hard to do that when you're spreading racist propoganda, you know....
"and cites this as being racist -
"Whiny old white rich people"
Because I don't think rightwing nutcases would put a Latino or African American in the picture - it's hard to do that when you're spreading racist propoganda, you know...."
more laughs! Thanks you bigot.
Just so I understand your rules, judging people as a group and to make generalizations about people and groups of people is wrong, unless you have disagreements with them, then bigotry is ok.
@ Me
What's wrong with calling out whiny old people for their misinformed, racist whining?
LOL!
hey, um - ME - you missed the point of the post and comment TOTALLY.
what's more amusing is you're accusing me of being bigoted - um, excuse me, ME - conservatives are the ones who are spreading this image - so aren't YOUR people prejudiced against white people?
Silly honky...
Once again thanks for proving my point. You just said conservatives are bigots and prejudiced. You are lumping millions of people into a group and judging them. NICE! Your bigotry knows no end! Keep it coming this stuff is hilarious.
@ Me
Don't strain a muscle grasping and groping for a point.
Here's the reality: some conservatives are bigots. They tend to write, forward, and embrace screeds like this email. Not all a conservatives are bigoted, but there there seem to be more than a few.
Its not bigotry to call out a bigot. And it doesn't make you some kind of martyr if we call out the bigots in the conservative movement for what they are.
Dedicating a site to "Red-America" forwards worldwide seems to be suggesting that all conservatives get and forward these emails.
Read the comments and those on this site are all positive that all conservatives get and forward these emails.
Yeah, no bigotry there.
Oh you poor, maligned bigots!
Always getting lumped together with the other racists just because you make a few racist remarks and *boom* you're called a bigot.
Jeez!
The nerve of those damn people pointing out your obvious bigotry! That SURELY makes THEM racist, no YOU. Oh nooooo...See, saying racists remarks and slurs isn't racist, pointing out racism is racist, see how that works?
Once in a while I read something I wish I could have written myself… and this is one such article. My only quibble is one passage near the end when Mr. Hall writes, “British and American soldiers are the only troops in history that civilians came to for help and handouts, instead of hiding from in fear.” Maybe I’m a tad biased because my son is in the Canadian Forces, but the most casual study of history will show that not all of the “good guys” wore American or British uniforms…
You know what I'm tired of. ........dropping 100k to be a lawyer, and not making a damn dime because of that dreadful degree. You know what I'm tired of the 1% of Americans who obtained their wealth through deceit, treachery, exploitation, and downright greediness, and have the gall to bitch about a taxing system that they've found every way to manipulate. What I'm most sick of is propel like yourself that say work hard and you'll get somewhere. Get a degree. Hell get two degrees. Go f yourself. You live in a 1950s generation where hard work did get you somewhere. Nowadays its about exploiting an opportunity, maximizing on said opportunity, and retiring. F your hard work principle when little assholes like zuckerberg are running around everywhere.
Exactly. You worked a 50 hour week. Big whoop. I worked 70 and 80 hour weeks. Its simply not enough to counter the good old boy ystem in the united states. Not in this day and age, anyway. At one time it was.
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